Conversations with: new joiner Dan, Software Engineer

February new joiners! We welcomed 4 new people to our Product and Tech teams this month. Get to know Dan, Software Engineer and scuba diver from the UK.

Daniel Ellis (Dan)

Software Engineer

about you

What's 1 conversation that changed your life?

I had a conversation with one of my brothers when I was around 18 years old. He convinced me to take a job with a charity as there might've been the chance to travel and see a bit of the world.

I followed the interview process after this conversation and ended up living in India for a few months. Without this conversation, I don't think I would have such an interest in traveling.

Is there a conversation you wish you never had?

I feel like most of my wishes in life (up till now) have been fulfilled, who knows - maybe this will change in the future!

Proudest achievement in career?

I assisted in the leading of a tech stack modernization at a previous job.

It was super interesting to convert and migrate from a lot of old Smarty templates and convert it to a Nuxt project. The performance of that website increased dramatically.

In life?

Taking the risk of a long-distance relationship. I met my girlfriend (now fiancée) almost 6 years ago, and we kept going the distance. It was hard at some points but making the move to Germany is one of my proudest moments so far.

What do you do when you're not here?

I like to travel a lot, and when I'm somewhere with an ocean I like to open water dive and live for a few short breaths under the sea.

Favorite Berlin restaurants?

JABE. It's Japanese, right around the corner from my flat and absolutely delicious. I also love Monsieur Vuong, possibly the best Vietnamese food in Mitte!You x Charles 

You x charles
Why did you want to join Charles?

I saw a demo of the product during the interview process and was impressed. I also saw the opportunity to continue my professional development.

How was the interview process?

It was extremely streamlined, there was feedback given at every stage of the process.

What was the onboarding like? 

It is a lot of information to digest but I liked that it was handled straight away. It enables you to get a real feel for the culture on your first days.

How do you feel after your first week here? 

Everyone has been super friendly and helpful. The information that didn't stick has been reinforced from the charles veterans.

3 bits of advice for someone doing the same job as you?

Keep at it: learning to code and software development is a process. Learn to love the pain in the beginning. The reward of finally solving a problem is so rewarding. (Like the gym folks like to say – no pain, no gain.)

Know what you want to learn: there are many paths for developers and there's plenty of knowledge available online for free.

Get in touch with potential mentors: learning without a teacher is next to impossible. And you can get a far deeper understanding from someone with lots of experience!

What's your personal mission for your role in the next year?

I would like to come into contact with all aspects of the codebase, and really get to know the ins and outs of the tech stack.